Anthony Mann

From the early 1940s through the late 1960s Anthony Mann directed over forty films. To some extent his work can be divided up decade by decade: The 40s saw him make seminal contributions to Film Noir, the 50s the Western and the 60s the epic. With this season we present three of Mann’s best noirs and three of his best westerns.

Desperate

Anthony Mann | USA | 1947 | 73 minutes
Recently demobbed from the army and with a baby on the way Steve Randall agrees to drive a truck, not knowing that is it for a gang of heist-merchants. Soon Steve finds himself on the run from both the authorities and the gangsters.

T-Men

Anthony Mann | USA | 1947 | 92 minutes
This procedural noir based on a real case from the US Treasury archives benefits from strong performances, attention to detail, and brilliant black and white cinematography from the incomparable John Alton.

He Walked by Night

Anthony Mann | USA | 1948 | 79 minutes
Another Mann/Alton case-based noir, as the LAPD hunts down a cop-killer who always seems to be one step ahead. The storm drain shoot-out finale equals The Third Man.

Devil’s Doorway

Anthony Mann | USA | 1950 | 84 minutes
An Indian returns from the Civil War wanting to establish a homestead, but finds himself opposed by both European settlers and their legal system. One of the earliest films in the 1950s Westerns with an Indian perspective cycle.

The Furies

Anthony Mann | USA | 1950 | 109 minutes
Part melodrama and part epic, this Western is a genuine oddity whilst also suggesting the direction Mann’s work would increasingly take in the 1960s.

Winchester ’73

Anthony Mann | USA | 1950 | 92 minutes
James Stewart’s cowboy wins a one-in-a-thousand Winchester 73 rifle in a marksmanship contest, only to have it stolen from him. An obsessive quest, reminiscent of The Searchers, ensues.